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Hammer Drill Recommendation

10-11-2007, 09:02 AM

I've gone through a couple of Bosch 1199VSR hammer drills. Neither one lasted very long. This is a 1/2" drill.

I don't want to waste another $160 for a drill that last for only a hundred holes or so. (I've had good luck with my other Bosch power tools). Maybe I need to go to a bigger drill like a 3/4" with more power.

Anyone recommend a good one that will last a few years insead of a few months?

If you want a good one, you will need to spend more money...a lot more. The small ones just don't hit right. We call them screamers. They turn too fast and are generally ineffective unless all you do is a few 1/4" or smaller holes a year. The better ones are lower rpm and harder hitting. They also do not use the smooth shank bits. SDS, SDS Max and spline drive all make the better to best drives.

My best one to date has been a Bosch 11222EVS 1 1/8 SDS rotary hammer. Home Depot and Lowes even sell them now. I have had mine for 10 years now. The guys have tried to kill it, but it just keeps on drilling and hammering hard. It works best on holes 3/4" and below, but will still do a good job on bigger ones. Chisels pretty good, too. The next best one I had was a Bosch 11232EVS...1 1/2" spline drive rotary hammer. If you need to drill holes larger than 1" all the time or do heavy chiseling, that is the one. Mine was great until someone needed it worse than I did.

I also have a B&D 7/8 SDS drive rotary hammer. It still works, but is definitely getting very tired. It runs 1/2" and down holes well enough. The 1 1/8 will smoke it, though.

I have no idea how many holes either of these drill have done. When I first got the Bosch 1 1/8, I had to drill over 1000 1/2" holes in very hard concrete. No problems. It has to have drilled well over 100,000 holes...maybe twice that or more, I just have no idea. The B&D 7/8" may be around 50,000? I have had it for nearly 20 years now. I wish they put hole counters on these things.

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Yes get a bigger bosch. I have/had them all when it comes to any and all sizes of hammer/impact drills. BOSCH....all the way... and any repair shop will also telll you bosch is BY FAR the best when it comes to hammer/impact tools. Its not even close. Sorry to hear about your problems, but I would say something was not normal, like lemon drill/reman drill/ improper application type stuff. I have Some bosch hammer/core drills that are almost as old as me and 2 of them have never been repaired. All My milwaukees are for sale They drill up to 2.5" drills to 6" core or atleast the manual specs say they will. But I have hard time drilling 2-1" holes for hosebibs a day without it breaking. On my 3rd free updated replacement from Milwaukee . Milwaukee jackhammer went down last month too. I have run 3 metabos in past years, and they held up and were good, but I prefered the Bosch units.
you know that each manufacturer speciallizes in one particular tool very well, but they don't doo them all good. Dewalts, I can't sell you because they are all irrepairable or more to repair than a new unit. Makitas are nice but I would never own one for buisness use.

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I have the same B&D that DDA52 has and I also have a 1/2" 2 speed B&D industrial model #5207. Both of these drills are 20 or so years old and God only knows how many thousands of holes they have drilled. Most of my holes are for 3/8, 1/2 and 3/4 inch lag bolts and are anywhere from 3" to 6" in depth for the lag bolts we use to bolt machinery to the floor. I don't recall how much I paid for them but that wouldn't matter much compared to today's pricing. I give both of these drills two thumbs up. Dave

If necessity is the Mother of Invention, I must be the Father of Desperation!

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I have the Bosch 1 1/8 SDS. Great machine. The only problem I've ever run into with it is the fact that they don't have reverse. If you ever bind a large bit on some rebar or something, you have to get a set of channel locks or vise grips to back the bit up.

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i have a couple differnt bosch's and havent had any problems with them. i also have a couple hilti's too i think if i had to replace a bosch i would get the hilti there a little stouter and have some more comforts too

DYNASTY 200DX
SPECTRUM 625
MM 251
BWE

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I've always had the Bosch's, don't remember the model numbers but both use the SDS style bits. No complaints, many hundreds of holes, fast and efficient, although the smaller one has a clutch starting to slip.

My friends in construction swear by Hilti though . . .

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Hilti is the way to go. A little more up front , but no hassles later on.
I used a "TE14" and a "TE22" (both discontinued due to upgrades) all day every day for years. They get a shot of WD40 down the chuck or collet when they get a little sticky from dust and they're good to go.

I remember one time (at band camp...) I was drilling into a concrete wal and the bit wasnt going anywhere.. So I pushed harder. The drill wnet slower so i pulled it out and the tip of the now very dull bit was glowing red hot. I could have lit a large Cuban cigar with it!!! Rebar sux

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Hilti is good, no doubt. The thing I have a problem with them over is parts for old tools. After 5 years or so, it is like pulling teeth to get any parts. I have a couple of screwguns that have zero parts available now. They have been the best guns I have ever had, but with no parts whatsoever available from Hilti, when they go down, that is it.

Bosch, on the otherhand, can still get parts for a 35 year old grinder I have. Bosch can be serviced by multiple locations here, while Hilti has one and one only.

Yes, Hilti is good as long as you know what you are getting into. If the price was equal to the Bosch, I would have all Hilti's as well. I just can't stomach paying 6-700 bucks when I can get the same size and almost the same quality for 3-400.

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I have been using a HF 1" SDS hammer drill for about 4-5 years. Probably only drilled 4-500 holes in concrete and stone but for about $50 with bits& chisels it is a great tool.
The price was on sale with a coupon.

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Hilti is good, no doubt. The thing I have a problem with them over is parts for old tools. After 5 years or so, it is like pulling teeth to get any parts. I have a couple of screwguns that have zero parts available now. They have been the best guns I have ever had, but with no parts whatsoever available from Hilti, when they go down, that is it.

Bosch, on the otherhand, can still get parts for a 35 year old grinder I have. Bosch can be serviced by multiple locations here, while Hilti has one and one only.

Yes, Hilti is good as long as you know what you are getting into. If the price was equal to the Bosch, I would have all Hilti's as well. I just can't stomach paying 6-700 bucks when I can get the same size and almost the same quality for 3-400.

After years of messing with all the other hand tools, I laid down about 15K and tooled up with nothing but Hilti. 5 grinders, 2 Demo hammers, 3 Hammer drills, 2 Jig-saws, 4 drills, 3 circular saws, 2- 27 cal. auto feed ramsets (HlT) and 4 screw guns. And of course about 10 batteries and chargers. And the only problem I have had is: I wish they would make a band saw! And by the way, I have 4 guys that work for me and they are all animals and after two years they can't manage to destroy the Hilti's As far as parts you should never have a problem at all regardless of how old your tool is!! They have a unique warranty (forever) and all tools sold are inventoried for future part replacement. Check it out and make sure you are talking with the right folks about getting your part!

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I am talking to the right people.... directly with Hilti's main parts center. There are zero parts available in the Hilti system for my TEK gun. They like to make you think they will support you forever, but that is not the case. I found that out firsthand. The guns were purchased in '88 and in '89...no parts for the '89 TEK gun whatsoever. There are a few minor parts for the '88 gun, but not much. I also got another TEK gun in '92. There are a few more for it when I checked last year.

The part deal is why I got a DeWalt TEK gun this year. I don't want to spend 280 bucks on another HILTI just to have to scrap it when I can't get parts down the road like the one I have now. I paid 150 for the DW and I know I can at least get parts for another 20 years for it. They still have parts for my chopsaw and it was made in '87.